Electric signaling apparatus



(No Model.)

G'. B. LEHY.

BLBGTRIG SIGNALING APPARATUS. No. 431,597. Patented July 8, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEOFFREY B. LEI-IY, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS. A

ELECTRIC sl'eNAl- IYNG APPARATUS. n'

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent No. 431,597, dated July 8,1890.

Application filed May 21, 1889.

To @ZZ whom. it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GE'OEFREY B. LEHY, of Medford, county of Middlesex,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in ElectricSignaling Apparatus, of `which the following description, in connectionWith the accompanying drawings, is a specilication, like letters andfigures on the drawings representinglike parts.

This invention'has for its object to construct a signaling apparatus forvarious uses, as burglar-alarms and the like.

In accordance With this invention twoprimary circuits are employedleading from a single set of batteries. One of the said primary circuitsincludes or contains one or more circuit-changing devices and areceiving-instrument, as an electro-magnet, and the other primarycircuit includes or contains a receiving-instrument, as anelectro-magnet, the armature or armatures thereof being arranged tocontrol an alarm-circuit containing a bell o r other suitable alarm orindicating-signal, and may be itself an indicating-signal- One of theprimary circuits contains a suitable resistance-coil, and When removed,shorte'cir- Y cuited, or shunted out by any cause other than a' break inthe line the circuit containing it is strengthened and its receivingelectro-magnet attracts the armature; but When said primary circuit isbroken the entire battery force passes over the other primary circuitandby the increase in strength its receiving electromagnet attracts itsarmature, so that Whenever the condition of the primary circuitcontaining the circuit-changing device is in any Way changed the fact ismade known by the receiving electro-magnets and by the alarm and othermechanism controlled by it. Suitable devices are preferably employed tocut out or render inoperative the receiving electro-magnets at will andalso for determining by the indicating-signal Whether or not the batteryis in proper condition.

Figure l shows in diagram a signaling ap paratus embodying thisinvention; Fig. 2, a modification to be referred to.

The signaling apparatus, as herein shown', is especially designed forprotecting a safe, or it may be a room or compartment at a distantpoint. The main battery a has leading Serial No. 311,594. (No model.)

from it two primary circuits a. a2, one of which, as a2, for instance,includes the compartmentto be protected, and contains one, or it may beseveral, circuit-changing devices, as a3, controlled by the door of thesat'e or otherwise. The'compartment herein represented in dotted linesis a safe, and the primary circuit a2 contains in the safe aresistance-coil l). The primary circuit a? also contains a receivingelectro-magnet a4. The primary circuit a contains a receivingelectro-magnet a5, shown in Fig. l as placed face to face with relationto the receiving electro-magnet a4, and an armature a, attached to anarmature-carrying lever al, pivoted at a8, is located between the polesYof the receiving electro-magnets and held -free from Contact with eitherpole, or substantially at a'point intermediate between the poles, bysprings 2 3, which are preferably adjustable so that more or lesstension may be brought on the armature at either side, as desired. l

The armature-carrying lever al is herein shown as having attached to ittwo contacts 4 5, which engage the contacts 6 7 When moved in one or theother direction. The contacts 6 '7 are included in an alarm-circuit c,herein shown as including the local battery c and the bell c2, or it maybe another indicatinginstrument.

It is the intention that the two primary circuits ct a2 shall be ofsubstantially equal resistance; but the springs 2 3, being adjustable asdescribed, this feature is not absolutely essential.

The armature-carrying lever may and preferably will bear a disk el,which moves back of suitable openings formed in a iiXed plate d or anequivalent thereof.

In operation, should any accident happen to the primary circuit c2, sothat in any Way its strength should be increased-such, for instance, asshunting out the resistance-coil or by contact With another Wire-thearma ture a. Will be attracted toward the receiving electro-magnet a4,and hence closes at 5 6 the alarm-circuit; and if the primary circuit aishould be broken the armature Will be attracted toward the receivingelectro-magnet a5, and by the contacts 4 7 will also close thealarm-circuit. It Will thus be seen that any IOO change in the conditionof the primary circuit a2 will be made known. W

I have herein placed one of the contacts, as 7, a little farther fromthe armature-carrying lever or from the contact 4 than the oppositecontact, so that when a wire is broken and the armature held by thereceiving electromagnet a5 it is completely out of the iield of thereceiving electro-magnet a4, or substantially so, and hence will notautomatically return, as it will do under all other conditions. Ahand-lever e is pivoted at c', being held by friction,which leverco-operates with two contacts e2' to maintain the continuity of thealarm-circuit c; but arranged directly above the said lever e are twocontacts e3, which, when the said lever is brought into contacttherewith, short-circuits the battery by the wires 8 9. I have alsoherein 'shown au electro-magnet f as included in the primary circuit a,the armature of which also controls the alarm-circuit c and makes knownwhen the strength of the battery is impaired by its 'armature falling.

The signaling apparatus herein shown is applicable for many purposes inaddition to burglar-alarms, such, for instance, as railway signaling andthe like.

In Fig. 2 I have shown two receiving electro-magnets a4 a5, located sideby side, and two armatures, as 20 20, attached to a lever or bar 22,pivoted at 23, and, it desired, the armature may be attached toindependent levers or bars.

l. In an electric signaling apparatus, the combination, substantially asdescribed, of a main battery and two normally-closed primary circuitsleading from it, a receiving electro-magnet in each of said circuitslocated adjacent to each other, the armatures of which are held awayfrom their poles by a force greater than the normal attractive force ot'the magnets, and stops located at opposite sides of thearmature-carrying level', but at dierent distances therefrom, when thelatter is in its normal position to enable the armature to bc retractedfarther away from the poles of one magnet than the other.

2. -In an electric signaling apparatus, the combination, substantiallyas described, of a main battery and two prim ary circuits leading fromit, a receiving electro-magnet in each of said circuits arranged face toface, an armature arranged between the said receiving electromagnets anda local or alarm circuit controlled by the movement thereof in eitherdirection, a suitable resistance in one ot the said primary circuits,and a circuit-changing device also in said primary circuit, and amanually-operable device for short-circuiting the main battery. f Y

3. In an electric signaling apparatus, the combination, substantially asdescribed, of a main battery and two primary circuits leading from it, areceiving electro-magnet in each of said circuits arranged face to face,an armature arranged between the said receiving electro-magnets and alocal or alarm circuit controlled by the movement thereof in eitherdirection, a suitable resistance in one of the said primary circuits,and a circuit-changing device also in said primary circuit, and amanually-operable device for short-circuiting.

the main batteryV and the local or alarm circuit.

4. In' an electric signaling apparatus, the combination, substantiallyas described, of a main battery and two normally-closed primary circuitsleading from it, a receiving electro-magnet in each circuit, thearmatures of which are held away from their poles bya force greater thanthe normal attractive force of the magnets and which, when brought nearto or against the pole of one magnet, is substantially out of theattractive iield of the other, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

' GEOFFREY B. LEHY.

Witnesses:

BERNICE J.- Novus, F. L. EMERY.

